Travel the Trail with Katrina

By Katrina Horner

Friday

Jan 11, 2019 at 3:08 PMJan 11, 2019 at 3:08 PM

Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of columns by Katrina Horner, a graduate of La Junta High School. Horner left La Junta after graduation and attended Bethel College in Newton, Kan., where she received her bachelor’s degree and nursing certification. She is now a surgical nurse in Providence, R.I.

Fear can be the most debilitating emotion in the world. One of the reasons I feel most would not attempt the Pacific Crest Trail is the fear of “what if” scenarios.

I, too, was nervous about many of these from time to time before and during my hike.

What if I have to go home because my blisters get infected?

What if I get separated from Bryce and we can’t find each other?

What if the trail becomes surrounded by forest fires?

All of these and the many others you can think of are all very serious issues that you must have a plan for and be able to use critical thinking skills to determine a best solution. However, none are reasons I shouldn’t make an attempt at this hike. I wasn’t going to let the fear of the unknown dictate my life, I was going to face it.

This trip brought up some of those “what if” scenarios I had thought of, and they all worked out. The Pacific Crest Trail Association was a big help when it came to the fires and landslides. They would keep updated reports of current fires, and their paths led us on a few detours to steer us out of trouble. We occasionally would see the volunteer crews out thinning the forest floor or cutting burnt, fallen trees that were blocking the trail.

Regardless of their efforts, we hiked a huge portion of the trail in smoke or with smoky views because there were so many fires on the West Coast this summer. Fires were following us all the way from back in California near Yosemite to the very end of Washington.

The smokiest part of the hike was around the California/Oregon border, when the Carr Fire was really raging through Northern California. This devastating fire burned about 229,651 acres, including some areas I had recently hiked through. In the Oregon Cascades, we hiked through a solid three weeks of smoke so thick we could hardly see the top of the volcanic peak we were climbing. I was lucky enough to get a hazy view at Crater Lake, while some fellow hikers only managed to see a floating bowl of smoke. It’s one thing to read about those fires in the news and another to hike more than three weeks in air quality conditions worse than those in Beijing.

Fire safety in remotes areas like this is very important. If you are ever going out for a hike, remember to look at the weather report of the area you are going to. InciWeb is a great online site to check for current fires in your area. If you see a ranger station along the way, check in with them and never cross fire closure signs on a trail. They are there for a reason. If you ever see smoke, analyze the direction it is blowing and plan a route in the opposite direction. Fire always burns uphill - it preheats the timber leaning towards it - so the best advice is to hike down.

Hopefully, you’ll never have to face any experiences like that, but just be prepared and knowledgeable of how to handle situations that may arise like that in the wilderness before heading out.

Once prepared, do not let the fear of the “what ifs” get to you! Cheryl Strayed, in her novel "Wild," wrote, “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.”

It takes courage to get out of one’s comfort zone and take on a life-changing challenge similar to hiking the entire PCT. I learned on the trail you cannot fear what you do not know. This is a very valuable lesson that helped me along my journey and I’m sure will help me in my many years to come.

Stay tuned next week to hear all about the cool wildlife paths we crossed throughout Washington!

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